At this time of year I sit down and figure out how much money I haven't got and then I divide it up and give it away. Oh yes, I have a low threshold for the annual exercises by my favored charities (Oxfam and British Red Cross amongst them). Given the Syria problem I may well be revisiting these charities soon. On a happier note I also fall for the annual supporter drives for my favourite websites: Board Game Geek and Consim World.
The BGG supporter drive is very worthwhile and this year I believe secured some 10,000+ donations. Apart from a warm feeling for having supported such a worthwhile cause (at least in wargame terms) you get some Geekgold (I'm not sure what you can actually spend it on) and a supporter badge on your BGG avatar. As I use BGG almost on a daily basis, a small donation every year is a great investment.
I also use Consim News on a daily basis and this year have made a donation to keep it going. I'm very pleased to say that Consim World does reward its donors most substantially. This year donors received a number of free games with Gold supporters finding the following in their e-mail:
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| The Battle of AP Bac by High Flying Dice Games |
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| Anzio by Saxon Games |
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| Braddock's Defeat by White Dog Games |
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| Fairfax's Revenge from TCS Games |
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| To Hell with Spain, an Infantry Attacks module from Avalanche Press |
At the end of the day, you have to take a balanced approach to things. I support certain charities because I believe it helps others in times of crisis. I support my board game resources because I think that society, at least the wargaming bit, would be poorer without them. I don't equate one with the other and so far can manage to do both. If I couldn't the choice would be easy, I have too many games anyway.
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